1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mobile communication terminal (hereinafter referred to as a “mobile terminal”), and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for setting up a network for Internet Protocol (IP) communication in a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of network technologies and services are applied to the many mobile/wireless terminals that have emerged in the field of mobile communication and wireless communication (or IP communication). Conventional mobile terminals support only a mobile phone function and short message delivery. However, mobile terminals have developed into smart phones supporting complex functions such as wireless broadcast, data communication, and multimedia playback. Additionally, the advent of mobile PC-type devices, such as mini notebook computers, net-books and Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), has made it possible to support the functions of a mobile communication domain and an IP-based wireless communication domain, such as IP-based Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in a single device.
The convergence of mobile communication functions and wireless communication functions enables a variety of services, such as, Internet access, file sharing, network games and group communication, based on a wireless communication network, such as, Wireless Local Area Network (LAN), Bluetooth and Ultra Wideband (UWB), along with traditional services based on mobile communication.
An IP-based WLAN communication system supports an infrastructure scheme and an Ad-hoc scheme. In the infrastructure scheme, WLAN devices existing in a communication area of a wireless Access Point (AP) are connected to each other via the AP. Specifically, a first device communicates with a second device via an AP. The AP serves as a relay between the first device and the second device. The Ad-hoc scheme supports Peer-to-Peer (P2P) communication between devices each having a WLAN interface. In the Ad-hoc scheme, two devices communicate with each other directly without an additional device like the AP.
FIGS. 1A and 1B show access methods during general WLAN communication. FIG. 1A shows an Ad-hoc scheme, in which a first device 101 and a second device 102 directly access each other for communication. FIG. 1B shows an infrastructure scheme, in which the first device 101 communicates with the second device 102 via an AP 103.
Generally, for IP-based communication, every terminal needs the setting items shown in Table 1 below. The setting process may be modified by simplifying or omitting part according to a security setting or an IP setting. However, performance of the basic network setup is required.
TABLE 1Setting ItemsDetailsWLAN On/OffWLAN OnWLAN OffDevice Access Mode SettingAd-Hoc modeAP modeAd-Hoc + AP modeNetwork SetupDHCP (Automatic)Manual SettingIP Address settingSubnet Mask settingDefault Gateway settingDNS settingSecurity SettingWEP settingWEP releaseEncryption settingNetwork Key SettingNetwork Key settingNetwork Key inputting
The ‘WLAN On/Off’ item in Table 1 indicates whether a WLAN interface is used after completion of the basic network setup process. Because of its large power consumption, WLAN basically supports a sleep mode in a non-transmission state. When not using WLAN, a mobile terminal turns off the WLAN by blocking its WLAN interface. Therefore, the mobile terminal should switch the WLAN to the On-state when it needs to reuse the WLAN.
The “Device Access Mode Setting” item indicates any one of the Ad-hoc scheme and the infrastructure scheme that the user wants when using the WLAN. The Ad-hoc scheme, in which devices are connected to each other directly for communication without an AP, may be utilized for Phone-to-Phone communication. The infrastructure scheme, in which two devices are connected to each other via an AP, operates in general WLAN communication. However, the infrastructure scheme may not be used in a place without the AP.
The “Network Setup” item sets an IP, and when using a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) function, each terminal may be automatically assigned an IP and may set a necessary protocol. However, the terminal sets a network setup option with DHCP. Unlike the DHCP setting, a manual setting method is inconvenient because each terminal inputs an assigned IP and other setting information one by one.
The “Security Setting” item sets a Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) for security of WLAN communication. Compared to wire communication, WLAN is vulnerable to security because all data is transmitted wirelessly. Therefore, in many cases, WLAN sets network security using the WEP setting.
The “Network Key Setting” item sets a network key. When sharing WLAN, all devices in the range (or coverage) of WLAN may access the communication network in principle. Therefore, a network key may be set to restrict users so that only authorized users may access the network. Specifically, a network establisher sets a network key and a device attempting to access the network may not access the WLAN unless it inputs the set network key.
The latest mobile terminals, to which an IP-based communication function like WLAN is added, may provide a variety of services, such as file transfer, E-mail transmission/reception, wireless Internet access, network games, and group communication, in addition to the existing mobile communication services. In order to use WLAN communication, each terminal performs WLAN network setup. However, due to the significant complexity of the network setup process as shown in Table 1, users may need basic knowledge about the network in order to use the WLAN. Because of the complex procedure for performing network setup for WLAN communication, the majority of ordinary users lacking the network knowledge may have a low utilization of WLAN communication over mobile terminals.
If every terminal is automatically assigned an IP address and a network configuration parameter by the conventional DHCP setting, the complex setting items mentioned in Table 1 may be reduced in number. However, this method selects a DHCP setting option, and if a network security setting or a network key is set, the user identifies access information and directly inputs the information. Also, a DHCP access method requires that an AP or a router supporting a DHCP server function be supported and that a DHCP client function be supported in a user terminal.
WLAN has structural security vulnerability because it transmits data wirelessly and may search for all terminals existing in a particular area. If the security setting or the network key for WLAN communication is not set, the network may be exposed to malicious attacks by the third parties, causing serious problems.
Wireless IP communication is less used by ordinary users due to the inconvenience that each terminal is required to perform the security setting and access setting by itself.